


Exotic and New

by Brumeier



Series: Sagebrush Tales [13]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Western, Case Fic, Crushes, Established Relationship, First Meetings, Forensics, M/M, Murder, POV Outsider, Period-Typical Racism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-10
Updated: 2019-09-10
Packaged: 2020-10-13 18:34:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20587121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brumeier/pseuds/Brumeier
Summary: Two newcomers arrive in Longfellow, bringing more than just exotic good looks, and Sheriff McGarrett's team gets a little bigger.





	Exotic and New

**Author's Note:**

  * For [vanillafluffy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/vanillafluffy/gifts).

> Happy Birthday, vanillafluffy! You helped egg this 'verse on, so it only seemed right to gift this latest installment to you for your birthday. Thank you for being such a big supporter and a wonderful friend in fandom!

Gabe was smitten as soon as he saw her descend the wagon.

She was dressed plainly, like most of the other women in town, but there was nothing else plain about her. Her hair, black and gleaming, was fashioned into complicated-looking braids that circled her head. And her face…Gabe had seen a fair share of Chinese ladies on their way to California to be with their husbands, but this lady was different somehow.

The wagon she’d arrived on was just as exotic, a wooden Gypsy wagon painted with a bright sunset and a beach and funny-looking trees. Gabe thought maybe she and the Chinaman with her were hawking elixirs or something, even though there was no writing on the side of the wagon.

The Chinese lady and her husband, if that’s what he was, were going in to see Mr. Max, the undertaker. Maybe they were family? Longfellow was a progressive town in a lot of ways, but Mr. Max was the only Chinaman that lived there. Except Gabe was remembering that he wasn’t from China, but some other far-off place nearby that he couldn’t recall the name of.

“New people in town,” Gabe reported when he brought Sheriff McGarrett and Mr. Danny their lunch from Ms. Haney’s.

“Trouble?” Mr. Danny asked.

“I don’t think so, sir. Couple of Chinese in a fancy wagon. They went to see Dr. Max.” Gabe didn’t mention how pretty the lady was, which Mr. Danny would have told him was irrelevant.

“Wouldn’t hurt to keep an eye on them,” Sheriff McGarrett said. “Thanks, Gabe.”

Gabe removed himself from the office and took up a post out on the front porch of the jail. He could see most of the main street from there, including Dr. Max’s office. Most undertakers just cleaned up the bodies that were brought to them and made sure they got a proper burial, but Dr. Max was different. He kept records of how everyone died, and when and where. He was an odd duck, to be sure, but a nice enough man when he wasn’t talking a person’s ear off about every obscure fact he seemed to know.

“Good day, Gabe,” Mr. Pine said as he walked past, on his way to Ms. Haney’s for lunch.

“Good day, Mr. Pine,” Gabe replied. 

People in Longfellow were polite and pleasant, for the most part. No-one seemed at all taken aback that the Sheriff’s deputy was an outlaw with a price on his head, or that Gabe had been plucked from an outlaw gang himself and put in the Sheriff’s employ. He figured as long as he kept his nose clean and didn’t start any trouble, he’d be welcome to stay.

It was nice, being so easily accepted. His widowed mother’s second husband hadn’t wanted anything to do with Gabe and made his life so miserable he’d run away from home to find his fortunes elsewhere. Now that he was properly settled, he thought maybe he’d send his mother a letter. Let her know he was doing okay.

Gabe was so lost in thought he didn’t see the beautiful Chinese lady until she was standing on the other side of the porch rail.

“Excuse me, do you know if there’s a place in town my cousin and I could stay the night?”

Gabe popped right out of his chair. “Yes, ma’am, I do. Widow Beane lets rooms. She’s just down that side street there.” He pointed. “I’d be happy to take you on over.”

The Chinese lady favored him with a smile. She had nice teeth, and almost no foreign accent at all. “Very kind of you. Are you certain the good widow will put us up?”

“Yes, ma’am. As long as you can pay, she don’t care where you come from.”

The lady gave him an appraising look. “You seem kind of young to be a deputy.”

“No, ma’am. I’m no deputy. But I do help out the Sheriff. And I know Longfellow pretty well, in case you need anyone to show you around. Or anything.”

Gabe blushed. He sounded stupid, like a little lovesick kid. No beautiful woman was going to look at him twice if he didn’t get his act together.

“If you’d be so kind, I’d appreciate an escort to the widow’s to make arrangements.”

“Of course.” 

It took all of Gabe’s self-control not to vault over the porch rail in his eagerness. Instead he walked down the steps and offered his arm.

“What’s your name?” the lady asked, taking Gabe’s arm.

“Gabe Hickock. No relation to Wild Bill.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Gabe. My name is Kono Kalakaua.”

“That’s a real pretty name, Ms. Kono,” Gabe said. He’d never heard a name like that in all his life. He repeated it over and over in his head.

“Thank you.”

They turned more than a few heads on their way to Widow Beane’s, but Gabe didn’t mind. Ms. Kono was different than any other Chinese lady Gabe had ever seen, apart from the one that came through that time with a wagon load of prostitutes on their way further west, because she was so confident and kept her head held high.

As promised, Widow Beane had no objection to renting rooms to Ms. Kono and her cousin as soon as it became apparent they’d have no trouble paying. 

Gabe walked Ms. Kono back to Dr. Max’s. He didn’t ask what she and her cousin were doing, meeting with the undertaker, but he hoped it wasn’t anything untoward or underhanded. He didn’t want to ask and seem too pushy, or too curious. Everyone deserved their privacy.

“Thank you for your assistance, Gabe,” Ms. Kono said. “Can you please let the Sheriff know my cousin and I would like to meet with him at the soonest opportunity?”

“Of course. Can I tell him what it’s about?”

“You can tell him we’re only here to help.”

That wasn’t overly informative, but Gabe promised nonetheless. Ms. Kono gave him a kiss on the cheek before she went back inside Dr. Max’s, and Gabe just stood there for the longest time, replaying that moment over and over in his head.

*o*o*o*

There was a murder, and Gabe was the one who had to ride out and roust the Sheriff and Mr. Danny from their beds to deal with it. That also meant rousting Miss Grace and, since it was still dark and no-one wanted to wake the Johnsons, she rode with him to the scene of the crime.

Imagine his surprise to find Ms. Kono and her cousin, Mr. Chin, already there with Dr. Max.

“Max. What are your friends doing here?” Sheriff McGarrett asked.

He hadn’t had occasion yet to meet with the newcomers, and he sounded rightfully suspicious, considering that Mr. Chin had a camera set up on a tripod over the body.

“Sheriff, may I formally introduce you to Mr. Chin Ho Kelly. He’s been doing some ground-breaking work in the field of forensics.”

“What does that have to do with all this?” Mr. Danny asked, gesturing at the camera.

Mr. Chin stepped forward. “Preserving the scene of a murder or other act of violence can be helpful in determining cause and motivation, and even who perpetrated the crime.”

Was that why Mr. Chin had wanted to meet with Sheriff McGarrett? To offer his services? Gabe eyed the camera with interest. Longfellow didn’t have a photographer, but there’d been one back home. Before his mother re-married, they’d had their picture made together in the parlor.

“Why does he want a photograph of the dead man?” Miss Grace whispered, rubbing at her eyes. She was sitting in front of Gabe in the saddle.

“To help them look for clues, I think,” Gabe murmured in reply.

Mr. Danny and Sheriff McGarrett were really good at figuring out the culprit when there was a burglary or other act of mayhem, but Gabe knew sometimes there was no way to know. Mr. Danny called the unsolved ones ‘cold cases’ and sometimes he’d tell Gabe about them, clearly still trying to work out who was responsible.

There was more talking, but Gabe was preoccupied by Ms. Kono, who looked even more fetching by the flickering light of the lanterns. She helped Mr. Chin with his equipment and had no qualms about touching the dead man when Dr. Max said it was safe to turn him over.

“Cover your eyes, Grace,” Danny said. 

“It’s okay, Mr. Danny,” Gabe replied. “She’s fallen back asleep.”

Good thing, too, because the front side of the dead man was a gory mess. Someone had slit his throat from ear to ear.

“Damn,” Sheriff McGarrett said, a pinched look on his face. “It’s Black Jack Durbin.”

“Who was he?” Mr. Danny asked, squatting down to take a closer look.

“Prospector. He only came down from the mountains once or twice a year.”

Mr. Danny made the humming noise that meant he was thinking things through. “Maybe he struck a rich vein, and someone wanted it for themselves.”

“Then why kill him this close to town?” Ms. Kono asked. “Why not kill him near his claim, where no-one would notice the body?”

“That is an excellent question,” Mr. Danny said. He gave Ms. Kono an appraising look. “I take it this isn’t your first murder investigation.”

“My cousin and I spent some time in Chicago, working with the police there.”

“Were you there during the fire?” Gabe asked. He’d read all about it; it had been national news at the time. Longfellow was a small town, but it had a volunteer fire-fighting force, and all the new construction was done with masonry and not just clapboard. The Chicago fire had scared everyone.

“We were there several years after,” Ms. Kono said.

Once Dr. Max had carefully examined the body and Mr. Chin had taken his photographs, poor Mr. Durbin was loaded into Dr. Max’s wagon. Gabe knew the procedure: the body would be stripped, the clothing examined for any bit of debris the murderer might have left behind, and then Dr. Max would do a sketch of Mr. Durbin and note every bruise and injury. 

“How soon can we see those photographs?” Sheriff McGarrett asked as Mr. Chin and Ms. Kono packed up their equipment. 

“I should have them for you this afternoon,” Mr. Chin said.

There were handshakes all around and then Gabe, Miss Grace, Mr. Danny, and Sheriff McGarrett rode back to the homestead. The sky was only just beginning to lighten, and Mr. Danny expressed his interest in getting a little more sleep before they started trying to find out who murdered Mr. Durbin.

“You can sack out in the living room,” Mr. Danny said to Gabe. “No sense riding all the way back to town.”

“Thank you, sir,” Gabe said gratefully.

He fell asleep thinking about how Ms. Kono’s skin seemed to glow by lantern light.

*o*o*o*

Gabe was busy all day running errands for Sheriff McGarrett, who’d ridden up to Mr. Durbin’s claim to have a look-see, and helping out old Charlie Weaver when his cow got out of the barn, so he missed seeing Ms. Kono and Mr. Chin at the jail. Their painted wagon was still parked by Dr. Max’s, though, and every time Gabe passed by, he imagined Ms. Kono standing on that beach at sunset like some kind of mermaid come to life.

When he finally had a minute to himself, Gabe popped into the jail to take a look at the photographs that were spread across Mr. Danny’s desk. The nice thing about making portraits of dead people was that they didn’t move and foul up the finished product.

“What can you tell me about the crime from these pictures?” Mr. Danny asked. He was leaning back in his chair, fingers laced behind his head.

Gabe carefully studied each photograph before answering. “Well, sir, Mr. Durbin was covered in blood, but there’s not much on the ground.”

“And what does that tell you?”

“He wasn’t killed right there?” Gabe guessed.

Mr. Danny grinned at him. “Exactly right. Which makes Ms. Kalakaua’s question from last night all the more interesting. Why not leave Durbin where he was killed? Why bring him all the way to town?”

“Must mean something,” Gabe said. “Maybe sending a message. But to who?”

“That’s what we need to figure out.” Mr. Danny pulled out his pocket watch and glowered at it. “Steve’s been gone for hours. I knew I should’ve gone with him. Who knows what kind of trouble he’s getting into?”

Sheriff McGarrett had asked Mr. Danny to stay behind and keep investigating. He’d taken Ms. Kono and Mr. Chin up to the claim with him to take more photographs, in case that’s where Mr. Durbin had been killed.

Gabe didn’t bother offering any assurances. Truth was, they didn’t really know anything about Ms. Kono or her cousin, and the Sheriff tended to put a lot of trust in people he’d just met. Mostly that worked out, but it was foolish to believe it always would.

“It’s possible the newcomers are responsible for Mr. Durbin’s death,” Mr. Danny said, and Gabe knew he was just thinking out loud. “As a way to try and get us to embrace this forensics thing Max was talking about. Coincidental, them showing up the same day a man is killed.”

Before Gabe could stop himself, he disagreed. “Ms. Kono wouldn’t –”

Mr. Danny raised an eyebrow. “Let me tell you something, my young friend. Don’t ever let yourself be fooled by a pretty face. Anyone is capable of murder, regardless of their looks, their background, or how much money they have.”

Gabe flushed, and bit his lip to keep any further protests on Ms. Kono’s behalf to himself.

“Here.” Mr. Danny tossed Gabe a 50-cent piece. “Go get yourself some dinner. There’ll probably be a lot more to do once Steve gets back. Thinks he’s a Pinkerton now instead of just a sheriff.”

Gabe didn’t linger over his meal, as good as it was. He wanted to be in on the action, wanted to be part of the investigation. Maybe someday he could be a sheriff, too. Or a Pinkerton. Or even a judge, like his own father had been before he died.

Gabe knew the importance of having dreams.

*o*o*o*

Sheriff McGarrett and Mr. Chin returned from Mr. Durbin’s claim looking like they’d tussled with an angry buffalo. Mr. Danny tutted and lectured while he tended to the Sheriff’s wounds, while Ms. Kono – unmussed save for a smudge of dirt on her cheek – tended to her cousin.

“What happened to being surreptitious?” Mr. Danny griped. “Did you just ride straight in and loudly announce yourself?”

“We were looking for evidence of a murder, Danny,” Sheriff McGarrett said in defense of himself. “Who knew there’d be an army of watchmen?”

Mr. Chin nodded, and then winced as Ms. Kono delicately blotted the gash near his eye. “They weren’t very friendly, even before the badge came out.”

“Any idea who they were?”

“I think I know,” Ms. Kono said. “And if I’m right, Mr. Durbin was definitely being used to send a message.”

Mr. Danny gave Sheriff McGarrett’s shoulder a quick squeeze before grabbing his pad and pencil from the desk to take notes.

“Please. Enlighten us.”

Ms. Kono had a look on her face like she knew Mr. Danny didn’t really trust her, but instead of being mad she looked…amused?

“All the tack on their horses was stamped with the same symbol: a diamond with the letters DZ inside.”

Mr. Danny drew it, then narrowed his eyes. “This looks familiar. Where do I know it from?”

Sheriff McGarrett leaned over Mr. Danny’s shoulder. “That’s a mining outfit.”

“DZ Mining,” Ms. Kono said. “My cousin and I have heard stories about them, none of them good. They’ve ruined a lot of towns, and a lot of good people’s lives in the process.”

“So you’re thinking they found out Durbin finally hit gold and took over his claim.” Mr. Danny tapped the pencil against his chin. “And left Durbin’s body near town to let other prospectors know they were here.”

Gabe thought Mr. Danny must be one of the smartest men in the world, the way he could work things out so fast with so little information.

“Any way we can prove it?” Sheriff McGarrett asked. “If we aim to accuse a big outfit like that, we need more than just a hunch.”

“We go over everything we have with a fine-toothed comb,” Mr. Danny said. “That includes Durbin’s body and his clothes. Dr. Meticulous might earn his keep for once.”

First thing the following morning, Mr. Chin and Ms. Kono went to see Dr. Max and help him examine Mr. Durbin again. Gabe was kept busy running back and forth to the telegraph office, trying to find out more about DZ Mining and where they might have recently set up shop. Mr. Danny and Sheriff McGarrett made the rounds talking to other prospectors in the area to see what they knew.

They all re-convened at Dr. Max’s office.

“Durbin’s death has them all running scared,” Mr. Danny reported. “Even the ones who look like they haven’t seen the sun or a hot bath for a year seem to know about DZ.”

“What did you turn up, Gabe?” Sheriff McGarrett asked.

“Well, sir, I sent messages to everyone you told me to. Seems like there are a lot of suspicious deaths and thefts and outright mayhem connected to DZ, but nothing that sticks. Pinkertons have been after them for a while now, but there’s never anything more than hearsay to go on. And DZ throws around a lot of money to keep people quiet.”

Gabe’s pockets were stuffed full of messages, but that’s what they all boiled down to.

“They think they’re untouchable,” Mr. Danny said, glowering. “I hate that.”

“I have something that may prove useful,” Dr. Max interjected. “I would never have noticed it without a second examination of Mr. Durbin’s body. Sometimes bruising doesn’t show up right away and you have to –”

“What did you find?” Sheriff McGarrett asked, cutting him off.

“Oh. Well, have a look for yourself.”

Dr. Max drew back the blanket that was covering Mr. Durbin’s body. He was naked and his skin had that waxy look most dead people got. Gabe had no idea what they were looking for until Dr. Max pointed out the bruise on Mr. Durbin’s throat, just under where he’d been cut. 

“Holy shit,” Mr. Danny said.

The bruise had come out in the shape of backwards letters, but Gabe didn’t need a mirror to see what they were: DZ. Like if someone wore a ring embossed with those letters and punched poor Mr. Durbin right in the throat with it.

“His larynx is badly damaged,” Dr. Max said. “If they hadn’t cut his throat, that might’ve been enough to kill him.”

“I photographed the bruise.” Mr. Chin passed around two photographs, one showing the entirety of Mr. Durbin’s head, and the other a close-up shot of the bruise. “I don’t think it’s enough to hold up in a court of law.”

“Of course it fucking isn’t.” Mr. Danny brought his fist down on Dr. Max’s table before storming out. Sheriff McGarrett was close on his heels.

“I didn’t mean to upset him,” Mr. Chin said, looking contrite.

Gabe tried to ease his guilt. “He had a run-in with people like that back East. Law couldn’t touch them, and they ran Mr. Danny out of town and away from his family.”

When Mr. Danny finally came back inside his eyes were a little red, but no-one said anything about it.

“Do we know where DZ is right now?” he snapped.

“They just set up a camp outside Hope Springs,” Gabe reported. “Pinkerton already has people headed that way.”

Ms. Kono looked at Sheriff McGarrett, but he was looking at Mr. Danny. “Mr. Williams? What do you plan to do?”

“You’d better call me Danny, since it looks like we’ll be working together,” Mr. Danny replied. “We best make arrangements.”

Sheriff McGarrett got a gleam in his eye, the same one Gabe used to see in the eyes of the gang he rode with just before they were ready to pull a job.

“We’re going to Hope Springs,” he said.

**Author's Note:**

> **AN:** Oh, friends. You have no idea. Firstly, I was excited to have a way to bring in Chin and Kono. I figure Chin’s talent with tech would translate to some cutting edge forensics techniques back in the day. (And I know they aren't Chinese, but Gabe doesn't know all that much about the wider world and he's certainly never heard of places as far off and exotic as Hawaii or Korea.) But that’s not even the best part!
> 
> Hope Springs. I’d been trying to figure out how to get my boys there and then Black Jack Durbin’s murder happened and suddenly I had an in. What’s the big woop, you might ask? Well, way back in 2012 I got an idea for an _NCIS_-focused Western drama full of crossover cameos. (Remember that, smiles2go?) I did a load of research, I did character bios, I wrote a fully-realized outline, and I even drew a map. And you know what happened? Nada. Zilch. Zippo. No words. I suspect this is because of the detailed outline, which never works in my favor.
> 
> But now! I can come into Hope Springs a different way, still populate it with my crossovers, and hopefully tell an abridged version of the Western epic I’d originally intended all those years ago. (Spoiler: do not expect this soon. LOL!)


End file.
